Tucson Unified School District classroom.Tucson business is doing well in supporting early childhood education efforts, but much more work is needed, an early education expert said Tuesday.
The Business Leaders for Early Education Breakfast, hosted by the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, included an update on an endeavor to bring Tucson’s children up to grade-level reading standards by the third grade
The program is called "Read On, Tucson."
United Way’s Read-On Tucson program has increased literacy test scores for children by 5 percent in three years at schools where it has been tried, officials said.
Barbara O’Brien, president of Get Smart Schools, told the gathered business leaders that is a good start, but only a start.
“To keep this up over the long term, it really has to be in the DNA of a community," said O'Brien, whose organization is based in Colorado. "And so you need to have more partners and real leadership from the mayor and business community to sustain it.”
Read On Tucson organizers said the role the business community plays is crucial to their efforts because industry leaders can bring access to politicians and funding.
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